Hiding Under the Ninth Earth
Backstory 02 : All Through the Night
Chapter Fifteen : Epilogue : All Through the Night
Friday 26 December 2003
Finger worrying his high collar, Severus muttered, "Tell me again; why are we doing this?"
Settling his plain navy outer robe on his shoulders, Harry spared him a wry glance in the mirror, and chuckled. "You ask that every year and the answer is always the same. Why bother?"
Eyeing him sourly, he mumbled, "A man can always hope..."
"Speaking of hope, you sent off the letters?"
"Yes, Hedwig was most obliging."
"Only three?" Harry teased.
"Perhaps I am being a bit optimistic; however, considering it's the first time in twenty years Hogwarts has solicited apprenticeships and considering it's me offering, I have high hopes..."
Harry grinned. "It's a good thing you have a big prick to balance that swelled head."
The snarky rejoinder died on his lips as he saw Harry wincing as he fumbled with the clasps to his robes. He held out his hand. "Let me see that," Severus demanded, suddenly serious. Harry reluctantly put his injured hand in Severus', his face that of a sullen schoolboy surrendering the Quidditch magazine tucked in his textbook. Severus studied the swollen appendage; it was warm, too warm and very pink; he could feel the sharp discomfort his gentle probing elicited. "Well?" he asked briskly, his tone brooking no prevarication.
Harry sighed. "Well enough. A bit of edema, but that's normal. The nerves are knitting right now so it's a bit tender, that's all."
"You've been doing too much with it," Severus stated flatly.
"I have not! I've been a right slug..." He stopped at Severus' raised brow and flushed. "Oh. Right. This morning. But that's not..."
Severus waited.
"...really work..." His voice trailed off and suddenly he found something fascinating to watch on the floor.
Severus folded his arms tight across his chest to stave the sudden chill dancing under his skin. "You hid it from me." Just like Kalani had kept his condition from Ben. "You used my pleasure to keep me from knowing how much it hurt."
He tried to keep his own small hurt from showing, but knew he'd been unsuccessful when Harry put his good hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and you were so - never mind - I was wrong regardless of the reason. It was dishonest of me and I won't do it again. All right?"
When he didn't reply, Harry tugged on his arms. He never could resist the brat and held him close when Harry stepped into his embrace. They were a right pair of fools sometimes, each with a penchant to conceal their weaknesses. While it bothered him that Harry had tried to hide it, he couldn't hold it against him as he suspected he would have done exactly the same thing had their places been reversed.
It was so much simpler now with the bond flowing easily between them. Harry's sincerity and remorse mingled with his own culpability and chagrin; he should have known better. He'd dosed Harry with a pain potion just last night when he'd returned from helping Filius and Albus in the Great Hall. This morning, had he been thinking with the head on the top of his neck, he should have checked or at least asked, but as Harry had said, he'd been so...
Harry's arms tightened around him, the constriction of breath worth the closeness. So precious, this man. So similar they were. He chuckled at a stray thought - except for the selection of their friends. Rubbing his cheek across his hair, Severus breathed deeply, savouring this small communion before they departed into the pit of hell Harry called 'The Burrow'. Harry's mirth rumbled against his stomach and on this more positive note, they reluctantly separated, making do with a loose embrace.
"C'mon, Ebenezer. We've much to do before you can wail and gnash your teeth." His stomach grumbled; Harry snorted, patting his abdomen. "And that's as good a place to start as any."
"Bah..." He kissed him. "...hmmm..." Just a little taste to fortify him through what was always a harrowing day. "...bug."
"Please, sir, may I have some more?" Harry whispered, stealing his lips before he could answer.
Somehow he thought Harry had his stories mixed up, but with this serious kiss warming his blood quite nicely, he couldn't remember why the dickens he should even care.
Oh, yes. Harry could have seconds, but it wouldn't be breakfast. Yet.
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Perrin was petulant. "We always watched the sports on the telly and ate leftovers on Boxing Day."
If he knew what it was, it sounded infinitely more interesting than visiting the Weasleys. However, through long suffering experience, Harry was adept at convincing the other recalcitrant member of his family to go anyway, although Severus was interested to see what sort of bribe one offered an eleven year old. He'd already got his - twice.
"Well, wizards visit family and friends."
Obviously Perrin thought that as lame as he did.
"Will they have a telly?"
"No, although not for a lack of trying; Mr. Weasley always has the worst luck with Muggle artefacts."
Sympathising with Perrin's long face, Severus remarked dryly, "You can always stay near me; I at least know how to be bored with panache."
Frowning around his smile, Harry exclaimed, "Severus! Behave!" To Perrin, he added, "There's always a Quidditch match, so I doubt you'll be bored. This year I got us a regulation set so we won't be using frozen apples for Quaffles."
Ah - and a very good inducement it was. Damn!
Perrin's face lit up. "Quidditch?"
Match and set - the boy hadn't stood a chance. "Oh, good gads," Severus muttered, rolling his eyes, "another convert."
"Can we go now?" Perrin asked excitedly.
"Well, we can get ready to go now, but we'll only get as far as the entry hall as we have to say goodbye to our friends and wait for Jed."
"Jed? Isn't he the healer you work with?" Perrin asked, his eyes suspicious as if this wrinkle was going to take away his treat. "Is he coming with us?"
"No, he'll be spending time with his own family, I suppose. However, today..."
"But why..."
"Perrin..." Harry growled, looking back at him helplessly; Severus raised his brows with as much innocence as he could muster - which he admitted was barely enough to fill a number aught cauldron. Harry started it, Harry could finish it.
Folding his arms across his chest Harry said sternly, "Are you ready to listen or shall we just keep interrupting each other all morning?"
Not bad.
"Sorry," Perrin mumbled.
Definitely whiny, definitely unusual. Given the dark smudges under his eyes (and he really needed to be more observant about these things) perhaps the boy hadn't slept as well as he ought. Concentrating, he sent his spouse an image of a dark cloud with vague sinister shapes within. Harry stiffened and then relaxed; message received - maybe even more nightmares?
Nodding, Harry began again. "In the wizarding world, Boxing Day's also when house-elves are traditionally exchanged, although some don't hold with it much anymore or can't wait. It's a long story, but Dobby has a lady friend in Jed's household and I've been negotiating with him to make her part of our household. We're waiting for him today to bring Blinky here in trade for Farly, a house-elf of Hogwarts, who..."
Ah, yes - Farly, the house elf who'd betrayed them to Lucius. Not that Severus blamed her at all as Lucius had owned one of her offspring, her daughter, Gabby, as he recalled. The bastard always had known how to properly leverage his advantages. She'd confessed to Poppy the day after their wedding when Lucius' new head elf, Falky, had contacted her, ordering her to open the house-elf portal Dumbledore had sealed the day before. Dumbledore, being a compassionate man, had suggested she tell Falky she'd been discovered doing so by Dobby and was now being held, pending a transfer elsewhere as punishment. Hence the trade today, which was probably a kindness; Dobby was particularly silent on the matter, but he knew the other house-elves had shunned her after the incident.
The true irony was that Bethany, not knowing the relationships, had made a coup by trading Gabby and two of her prized cats for three house-elves from one of the society mavens; evidently, according to the rumours, Lucius wasted house-elves the way Trelawney went through tea leaves. Gabby was now at Hogwarts training to replace her mother in the infirmary and it seemed everyone was content with the new arrangements. Well, everyone but Lucius. Too bad.
A tapping on the window broke his reverie as did the, "What the...?" from Harry. Perrin opened the window, a swirl of snow and a blast of arctic air carrying with it a downy grey owl into the dining nook. It dropped a note in front of Harry and then, not waiting for a treat, was out the window before Perrin had even closed it. Rising from the table, Harry sighed, handing the note to Severus on his way out the room.
Harry:
It's a blizzard out there! Can't even see my walkway from the window. Don't wait for me; we'll just have to do this when the weather calms.
Jed
"And where do you think you're going, Mr. Potter?" Severus shouted to him, following him into the Rotunda.
Harry turned to him, his smile fading. Good, he'd donned the correct grim face. "Um, I'm going to Jed's?"
"You are going nowhere." Summoning his heaviest cloak, his recent gifts from Perrin in the pockets, he called, "Dobby? Farly? Attend. Now." He pulled on the cloak, muttering, "Damned fool wizard, it's a wonder he ever passed his NEWT's let alone became a healer. Can't spell away a little snow? Nooo - he has to make everyone else come to him in such abominable weather..."
Harry put a hand on his arm. "Severus, I can go, it's my respon..."
"Absolutely not!" Knowing he was pushing it, he leaned closer, his hand tracing the angry flush on Harry's cheek. "Harry, you know you shouldn't go out in the cold more than you have to with your injury. I can Apparate directly there and back."
Harry sighed, kissing his fingers. "Still protecting me, love?"
"You know I do."
"Yeah, I can see that but, Severus, if you go, you would have to accept Blinky and we agreed..."
"I know and I haven't the foggiest what I'm to do with a house-elf, but I'll not risk your health for what is only a minor inconvenience."
Harry would have said more, but a pair of 'pops' heralded the house-elves' arrival. "Dobby? Perrin? You're to make sure Harry stays here and takes the green potion on the desk in my study in a quarter hour. I'll be back shortly."
"Yes, Master Snape," Dobby said stoutly. "Dobby will sit on Master Harry if Dobby has to."
Harry was actually sputtering, the rebellion sparking in his eyes. Looking Dobby up and down, then stealing a glance at his irate husband, he remarked to Perrin, "Might need both of you at that - and Kani."
Pulling on the gloves, he turned to the other house-elf, holding out his hand. "Farly, you're with me." When she hesitated, he barely curbed his impatience. "Contrary to current opinion, I don't bite."
"Much," he heard Harry mutter, Perrin giggling.
As he Apparated away with Farly, it occurred to him that any delay in going to the Weasleys might not be a bad thing after all.
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Damn fucking castle! Or Albus. Or both. Didn't much matter when he couldn't Apparate back into their quarters. When he'd found himself outside the wards in the freezing cold rather than in his nice warm chambers, he taken a few moments to curse in three languages before seeing to his new house-elf.
Which turned out to be a bit of a problem. At first he'd told her to Apparate into the kitchens only to find out the portal was still closed. Knowing she wasn't permitted to take even the simplest of precautions to preserve her life, he'd finally cast a warming spell on the shivering house-elf (who'd started turning an interesting shade of periwinkle) as the best he could do when she refused his scarf and earmuffs. He'd blinked at her adamancy until he remembered they were considered clothing. He'd even offered them again, telling her he knew in full what he was offering, but she said she'd not yet decided and even he couldn't make her do so.
Figures he'd get another stubborn one.
To say the trek was uncomfortable would be akin to saying it was a bit nippy outside although the new skivvies were marvelously warm. Blinky remained silent, more he thought from the cold than...
Thwunk! Thwock! Body and arms were assaulted... Twush! Spluck! ...wand out as back and arse were hit... Thwud! ...an icy cold dripping down the side of his face into his collar. Splosh! A single tendril shivered down the nape of his neck.
Three or five? How many? His eyes scanned the snow. How many? For a brief moment he contemplated the side-effects of camouflage but decided his own peculiar reactions weren't worth the effort. Damn it! How many?
A flicker to his right. He cast the spell. "Glacialis"! Once, twice. Two cries. Got them! Whirling, he cast off two more. A single grunt. Remus. He'd know him anywhere.
Apparate ten steps to the left, turn on a heel, two more spells in the direction where he'd been seconds before followed by, "Aperio Proprius!". Ah, Ben and Kalani.
Splotch! Thwuck! Arse and elbow - knocked his spell awry. Didn't much matter, the cracks of Apparition told him they were moving as well. For several concentrated minutes of weaving and Apparating and dodging, the snowballs flew; person by person he revealed them all, evening the odds.
Five to one - it hardly seemed fair.
Splath! Right to the back of his head. A giggle. Mentally inventorying the victims: Kalani, Ben, Remus, Kahealani, and Joseph. Just who the hell...?
Perrin - in white winter gear, no less - scampering out of the way. Revenge flew off his wand as he drew in his senses. Good. No Harry. A yelp marked his target. Better yet.
Ah, six to one - much better.
"Master Snape! Behind you!" Behind him. Whirling, ducking. Heh. It hit someone else. Apparate five steps to the right. Blinky popped in and pointed. Without hesitation he shot off a huge snowball and hit Kalani. "Fuck that's cold!."
Six to two - the buggers don't stand a chance.
Thunk! Right in the arse again. Damn it! That girl can throw. No mercy. One, two, three. Heh. She can screech, too.
He grew hoarse with all the spells he cast, but he and Blinky held their own. Perrin and Kahealani dropped early with well aimed giggle hexes, followed by Ben who looked like a snowman when he was through with him. Admittedly cheating, if one were a purist about such things. Fortunately, he wasn't.
Harwump! Struggling out of a snowbank, he belatedly realised Ben wasn't as out of commission as he'd thought. He turned... Thwupp! Splush! Smush! Shoulder, thigh, and knee. How the hell does Remus do that? Thump, Thwut, Splut! Back, Arm, and bum. Joseph. The Aurors were starting to work together.
Not Good. Wait a minute. What the hell? How is it we're Apparating? Bugger Dumbledore. He set me up.
Movement caught his eye. The door at the base of the tower opened, Harry framed in the opening. Ah, a tactical retreat. Good idea. "To the door, Blinky!" he roared, shooting off a veritable snowstorm before Apparating to stand near the opening.
"Having fun, dear?" Harry drawled, his eyes crinkled in new laugh lines.
"Ha! Victory is mi..."
Shhhhhhlump! Shit! An veritable avalanche of snow falling from above (followed by a pair of familiar, evil, meddling, old-fart cackles) covered him from head to foot. Globbing the snow out of his eyes, he looked up just in time to note a bright red robe and a white beard whisking through the open window before it closed.
Shaking his head and body free of snow, he clomped inside behind Harry wistfully, knowing there wouldn't be sufficient time for a 'proper' warming before they had to leave for the Weasleys.
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As they arrived at the front door of The Burrow, Severus reflected it was a shame that the name 'Boxing Day' had nothing to do with pugilistic displays between tanked-up family members looking to taking a round out of each other. At least it might have been a bit more interesting than engaging in what passed as small talk which usually disintegrated into loud and raucous conversation of a more personal nature. Since he'd been unable to convince the half-frozen but insufferably cheerful Ben and Kalani to stay, and Remus, stuck to Kahea' like a limpet, was accompanying them back to Hana, he'd brought fortitude in the shape of two bottles of his favourite wine ostensibly as a gift. If he had to endure by himself, let it be in a foggy haze.
While Harry carried the Quidditch box inside amidst a hale of Weasley cheers, Perrin carried Harry's ancient Firebolt. That had been a surprise. While he'd known Harry had cracked it up last summer, he wasn't aware he'd had it repaired. Beautiful job of it, too. Not that it would have stopped him from buying the touring broom. With his work, Harry had more need of comfort than speed; the special cushioning charms would let him nod off while the 'Always-on-Course' charms brought him home safely. Now though, he needed to find a tactful way of keeping Harry inside without ruffling his already puffy feathers; he'd got away with it once, he wouldn't twice.
As it happened, he never had to dip into his considerable persuasive skills, for they'd no more crammed themselves into the chairs and sofas filling the living room when Harry's Call Crystal, flashing pumpkin orange for St. Mungos, sounded shrilly over the din. Swearing a blue streak, Harry struggled from his cosy spot next to Severus and with profuse apologies to everyone, Disapparated out of the room.
A glass of wine later, Harry returned with a loud crack barely discernible above the noise, his face closed. Their eyes met across the room and Severus was struck by the sadness in them. The room gradually quieted as the Weasleys took note of his presence, Molly shushing the twins when they kept yammering.
With only a nod to the others, Harry beckoned Arthur and Molly to accompany him back to the kitchen; a slight shake of his head kept Severus in his seat, curious, but not overly concerned. A few moments later, Arthur popped his head out the swinging door, calling Charlie and Bill. With matching puzzled frowns, the two men joined their parents, Molly's voice soon rising clearly, even if her words were indecipherable
With the instincts of the young, Perrin moved from his place on the floor with Fred and George to sit next to him, his eyes huge and staring. Without thinking about it, Severus put his arm around his shoulder. Perrin sagged into him, his body almost vibrating with tension. As were they all by now. Looking up, he caught Hermione staring at them, her face soft as her hand rested possessively on her swelling abdomen. Blushing, she smiled shyly at him and glanced away, her attention drawn by the opening of the kitchen door.
With little talk, the three Weasley men grabbed their cloaks by the door, kissed their wives goodbye with a, "I'll be back," and left through the door to the front porch. Seconds later the cracks of Apparition said they were gone.
While the remaining family members clustered around Molly, quietly demanding an explanation, Harry walked over to them, his shoulders hunched. Dropping to his haunches, he placed a hand on their knees, saying wearily, "I'm sorry, I have to go back to St. Mungos."
Severus covered his hand, nodding. The image Harry sent him was utterly clear; Arthur and Molly were the primary reason he was returning, not his work. Sharp resentment stabbed through him, but he quelled it quickly; Harry didn't need his irritation on top of everything else.
Perrin quietly asked, "Will you be back soon?"
Harry shook his head. "Probably not. Stay here as long as you like; the Weasleys are the closest thing I have to a family other than you and Severus." To him he said, "Don't wait up for me; I may not be back until tomorrow."
"I understand," Severus said and then cringed inside as the added words, "Please be careful," came out as they always did.
Harry smiled for once, leaning in to kiss his cheek tenderly. "For you, love? Always," he whispered. He touched his fingertips to Perrin's cheek and stood. "I have to go."
When Harry disappeared through the door Perrin turned to him expectantly. "Someone from a friend's family is very ill and needs Harry."
"Can we go home soon?" Perrin asked, clearly torn between worry and being a child, his eyes sliding to Fred and George already back on the floor as if nothing had happened.
"After dinner?" Severus proposed as a compromise, pulling his arm away. Surely he could tolerate The Burrow that long if only to please an absent Harry. When Perrin nodded and moved to rejoin the others, Severus let out a sigh of relief; he'd hate to miss Molly's cooking.
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Composing his face from deep worry to calm blankness, Severus looked up briefly from his work when Harry finally arrived home in the wee hours of the morning. Nodding at Perrin sprawled on his couch, he explained, "He insisted on waiting; I decided to work while he did so." Letting the blue potion settle before topping it off, he sealed it tightly with wax and only then asked, "How is he?"
"Gone." The weariness in Harry's voice made him want to close his eyes against the pain in it, but no, he had to finish filling the bottles. Harry leaned his hip against the table, rubbing his face with his hand. "They lost him shortly before I returned."
"The wife then?"
Harry sighed, glancing at the couch where Perrin had fought sleep only a hour or so before. "Merlin, what a mess. They were bonded, you know. What little remaining sense Alice possessed, snapped when Frank died. She was beyond hysterical by the time I arrived. It was as if someone had cut all but one of the strings on a marionette; only thing left for me to do was tie up the loose ends." He put his hands over his ears. "I can still hear her shrieking - set off all the other patients, too. The ward was filled with healers and Medi-witches and house-elves. Total bloody fuck-up." His eyes glazed and Severus had a sudden image of utter bedlam.
"Took almost all of Arthur's influence to get her moved into the only private room on the floor and even then I had to sign my life away to secure it and get the previous occupant moved to another bed." He pitched his voice to a falsetto. "Oh no, Mr. Potter. I can't take responsibility for stabilising the ward for the other ten or so clients. You have to do it." He snorted in disgust. "Spent half my time getting the other patients quiet once we moved her; it's what kept me so long - Lockhart was an absolute nightmare. The other half was spent waiting for her healer to show; he never did. Bloody wanker fancies himself above night and holiday calls."
As this was a common complaint, Severus gave it the attention it deserved, which was little to none. "How did they take it?"
"Neville... Gods. I'm glad he has Ginny. She was super. So were Bill and Charlie for that matter." He looked back at the couch before saying softly, "Although I know it would have been hard for Neville to lose them both in one night, it might have been kinder, to Alice especially, to just let her go as well, but I could tell... Neville wasn't... Well, sometimes they're just not ready to let go."
"Understandable. Even when one know it's coming, the actual event is devastating, especially considering one has to make that sort of decision in the first place. A coup de grâce is perhaps the most difficult - task - with which anyone can be faced. Could you have done so?"
"Yes, not that it would have taken any actions on my part," Harry replied with quiet conviction. "She's not in her mind anymore, Severus, not whole; her body's barely held together by a Sanos promise. She was so close behind him..." He lowered his head. "They should have let her go. I don't think she'll last the night in any event. I suppose I should still be there, but Jed offered..." He glanced at Perrin again. "I just couldn't..."
Severus placed the last bottle carefully on the table. It was a matter of a two steps and he filled Harry's vision, blocking his view of the boy on the couch. A potion-stained hand cupped Harry's icy cheek, the thumb soothing the hurt away in short strokes. "You do fine."
"I'm not strong like you," Harry whispered. Understanding filling him, Severus pressed warm lips to his forehead; forgiveness given in a single kiss. "I couldn't stay. She's not even my patient anymore. It was too close to - too soon to - too much effort for no gain, no way to succeed - I couldn't - just couldn't - fix her again."
"Is that what you did with my mum? Nothing? Did you just 'let her go'?" Perrin demanded loudly, his face furious, sitting up on the couch. He stood, chin high, his fists clenched and white. "Did you decide she wasn't she worth the effort, either? Did you just let her die? Could you have fixed her?"
Harry staggered and slumped. The searing pain ripping through him from Harry was like none other Severus had ever felt, even in his worst moments. A pain so cutting, like shards of broken glass, he found it hard to breathe. Harry gasped as his colour left him, words stripped to a silent whimper Severus knew he dared not utter. Finally one dragging breath followed another and without warning, Harry turned and blindly fled the room.
"Harry!" The choking remorse in that small voice carried almost as much visible pain as that which had just left the room. "Harry, I'm sorry."
Was this what his father had felt? Was this what every man who beats his own flesh and blood feels inside? Was it this raging anger, so profound it dimmed the sight, making the blood a molten torment in his veins? Was it the shaking hands and clenched gut? Or was it the throbbing in his head; a pounding, primal beat silencing all rationality, all functioning reason?
A limned glimpse of frightened sepia eyes filtered through the red haze shadowing his vision, bringing with it a twisted sense of sanity. He forced open the hands he'd not even realised he'd fisted. No! It could be none of these. The fury within him must never get out. He must be calm, must be in complete control. He must not act on the instincts urging him to hurt the source of such pain to his mate. Must not lash out with hurtful hands and wounding words, ones to make the boy bleed as much as the one he'd grieved.
"I'm sorry, Severus."
Three simple, heart-stricken words, said with a full knowledge of what had been done, proved to Severus, beyond any doubt, that he was not his father. He was not a snarling, raging animal; he was just a bonded man reacting to his mate's pain. Almost sagging in his relief, Severus cleared his face to its most impassive mask before answering icily, "I am not the one to whom you should be apologising." When Perrin, his head hung in abject misery, said nothing, Severus cooled a bit and added evenly, "In this house we take full responsibility for the things we say and do. I am assuming you know what needs be done, although if you are unsure, I could easily be persuaded to describe it to you in the greatest detail."
"No, that won't be necessary."
"Then go!"
Watching Perrin leave, he knew he'd lost control - just for an instant. The snarl, one he could not contain, had hurt the boy and maybe he had meant it to; regardless, he could not regret it, nor retract it. If that was the worst he did to the boy while his stomach still roiled and his head hurt as much as his heart did for Harry, then it seemed a small price for Perrin to pay to learn the control he would need later in life.
He cleaned up, drawing out the familiar routine to soothe him as it always did. As he worked, scrubbing the cauldrons and instruments by hand in the stone sink, he made a mental list of those potions he would continue to make in the future if for no other reason than to keep his sanity in times like these. Blessed potions. Clean, clinical, with no human complications except those he exacted from himself. Where would he be without them?
His work done, he hung the old work smock up on the hook by the door as he'd been doing for over twenty years. A few moments later, walking down the ramp, he intended to go straight to bed, but habit made him check all the rooms and circumspection made him leave the sitting room for last.
Standing shadowed in the deep opening, it took his eyes only a moment to adjust to the dim light of the fire and less time than that for weary emerald eyes to hold him captive as they peered over the tousled head of a sleeping boy held curled in his lap. A hand beckoned and like iron to a magnet, Severus found himself inexorably drawn to their side. Easing himself into the spot Harry had left him between the sofa arm and his hip, Severus saw the tracks of their grieving tears drying in the warmth of the dying firelight and felt the reconciliation the two of them had already established.
Deny it as he might try, there was something here he - they - needed, something offered freely, something rooted in harsh words and dark curses and locked cupboards and innocent beetles trying to escape. And as he gently shifted Perrin's lax legs into his lap and settled a sleepy Harry against his side with a soft kiss, Severus began to understand that absolution and healing for them all might be more than just a child's dream.
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Finis
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A/N: Thank you all, once again, for your kind attention. And my undying gratitude goes to my unsung beta readers, Aseneth, Delphi, and Lydia Lovestruck, for their patience and perseverance. I'm a moody thing at the best of times, a basket case at the worst; they are the most tolerant of friends.